VIEWPOINT: Health system needs emergency treatment
STATE SEN. KAREN KEISER
This past spring, my son graduated from the University of Washington. That should be cause for celebration, but it’s really a cause for concern. He will be dropped from my health care coverage at the end of the summer because he is no longer a student. And his job doesn’t include health care benefits.
Many of us have children who can’t find a job with decent affordable health care benefits. Some of us are locked into our current jobs because we cannot afford to lose the health care benefits which seem to get hit with increasing premiums, co-pay creep and ever-rising deductibles. Others work for employers that do not provide affordable health insurance options.
None of us can be confident that the health care we have today will be there for us and our families tomorrow. That is why the current debate over national health care reform is so important.
The costs associated with the current system are crippling. Medical costs continue to outpace wages and overall inflation. According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, employer health costs are expected to grow another 9 percent in 2010. That’s on top of a 9.2 percent increase in 2009 and another 9.9 percent increase in 2008.
Businesses aren’t the only purchasers of health care experiencing unaffordable premium increases. Since 2000, average family premiums have increased by 103 percent in our state. Washington businesses and families pay a “hidden health tax” of nearly $1,300 per year, partly because of the cost-shifting in the system.
Family premiums now average $13,216 a year – about equal to the entire income of a minimum- wage job. This summer, once again, premiums are climbing. Regence just announced a 17 percent increase for its customers.
Some erroneously believe health reform is only about getting people covered. It’s not. We need systemic reforms because having medical insurance is no safeguard against financial ruin.
I recently met a Federal Way woman who, while fighting cancer, had to pay more than $40,000 in out-of-pocket costs because her $450 a month insurance premium wouldn’t cover certain medical expenses.
She survived the fight against her cancer and against financial ruin. But millions of Americans aren’t so fortunate. Statistics show that roughly 62 percent of personal bankruptcies are caused by medical problems, and 78 percent of the people who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance.
This is unsustainable. Health reform is not a luxury; it is an economic necessity. That’s why it is so incredibly important to enact national health care reform as soon as possible. I agree with others who say that if health reform is not enacted this year, it will not happen at all.
It’s time to declare an emergency and push back against those who denounce government-run health programs.
Call 911 and highly trained paramedics will come to the rescue. We have one of the best trauma response systems in the world. Our 911 paramedic system is one government-run health program that saves lives every day.
Our nation’s VA medical system is also one of the best in the world and delivers not only better outcomes for patients but also lower costs overall than the private sector delivers. It is another great example of a government-run system that not only saves lives but also saves families from economic ruin.
What we need now is a high-quality, comprehensive American health care system that gives the same safety, affordability and peace of mind to all Americans.
State Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, chairs the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee.
